Knowing tips for traveling can reduce your trip budget, but it mainly involves plenty of preparation. Providing you do your homework and book things in advance, your vacation can be inexpensive and very enjoyable.

In this article, we’ll look at tips for traveling that can help save you money.

How Can Planning Travel in Advance Save Money?

Planning in advance is one of the best tips for traveling on a budget. This is because you can book things before you travel and research the best times for your trip.

A good place to start is by downloading a free travel app or two. There are plenty available, but look at ones that discuss activities and hotels/hostels. Many will also have discount codes available, or you could download a separate discount app.

Another useful advantage of planning in advance is booking your trip during the off-season. One of the best money saving expert tips is to look at flights at different times of the year. If you’re not set on going at a particular time, it’s an ideal way of traveling at a much lower cost.

What Destinations Are Best for Low Cost Travel?

If you’re booking a low cost vacation, being flexible with where you go is another money saving travelling tip. Some places are significantly cheaper than others because they’re not as tourist-focused. As such, you can have an almost identical trip for a much lower cost.

Some highlights include: 

• Cambodia – $25 a day
• Indonesia – $30 a day
• India – $20 a day
• Georgia (Europe) – $30 a day
• Colombia – $35 a day

It’s worth noting that these prices include somewhere to stay and meals. Of course, if you’re looking to travel for a low cost, you can’t be as picky with where you stay. The prices above are for hostels, which not everyone might enjoy.

However, another reason to look at getting a free travel app is that you can research the least expensive places to stay in a country. Even a service like Airbnb or Vrbo can be useful for finding cheap hotels or rooms.

A Travel Checklist

Once you’ve settled on a place to visit, make sure you follow the travel checklist below to get the most value for your money.

Set Your Budget

You could hardly do something for a low cost if you don’t have a budget in mind. After doing some initial research on your destination of choice, figure out an acceptable budget for the trip. Then, simply build your trip around this.

Don’t Overload Your Itinerary

Trying to pack too much into your trip is an easy way to overspend. What’s more, if you’re not familiar with a location, you don’t have any concept of how easy it is to travel around or what kind of distances you’ll be dealing with.

Say you went on a trip to Costa Rica. Once there, you want to go scuba diving, hiking, and to a rainforest. Despite it being a small country, travel isn’t too easy. If you try to fit all these things in, you might find you miss some. And this is an easy way to waste money.

Packing the Right Stuff

It’s pretty easy to overpack and underpack for a trip. So, next on the travel checklist is deciding what stuff you need and how much you should take. Check the weather and take the right clothes, plus an item or two for adverse weather.

But packing doesn’t just mean clothes. Consider what tech you might need (a phone, tablet, etc.) and if they’ll actually be useful. A phone is a no-brainer, but think about how you’ll actually communicate with people while you’re traveling.

Back Up Your Money

When traveling, it’s usually sensible to use cash. This helps you budget better and lowers the risk of your card being stolen. However, you should also have some in reserve for emergencies.

First, notify your bank and card issuer that you’re traveling, so they don’t think it’s fraud. Next, if your bank offers it, divide your money into pots or mini accounts. Doing so means you have backup money and that you won’t lose it all in one accident. Also, hide cash about yourself in different places, such as your wallet, a pocket, and even some in your sock.

Finally, if you have a credit card, take it with you. It’s the best form of insurance against theft. Equally, one of the best tips for traveling is to keep it separate from your cash. If your cash gets stolen, it means you can still spend money.

Useful Tools for Travellers

Depending on what kind of trip you’re taking, the following tools can help you have a low cost experience:

• Ziplock bags – helps protect things from water and makes packing bags easier.
• Clothesline – if you need to dry clothes, you’ll need somewhere to hang them!
• Fanny pack – this is better for storing money/valuables than a rucksack.
• Belt with secret compartment – this is better still for storing valuables.
• Microfiber towel – if you’re traveling, microfiber is best because it dries quickly and doesn’t weigh much.
• Swiss Army knife – you can usually carry these in luggage, providing they’re declared, and they’re super useful for all kinds of jobs.

What Apps are Recommended for Travellers?

One of the most important tips for traveling is to use a travel app that offers efficient international communication. Textr Go could be the best option, as travellers are eligible to get a free phone number through the app.

Textr Go provides international calling services with VoIP and can be used across the world. The international plans offer unlimited calls and texts within Canada and the US, and lower rates than traditional providers elsewhere. 

Plus, the app synchronizes all your contacts and chats across different devices, which is a useful backup for traveling. Textr also provides an eSIM package, meaning you can easily switch between international plans when moving between countries.

Check out everything else Textr has to offer and see how it can help with your low cost trip.